Chapter 3
The photograph stared up from the center of the table.
Teresa Moretti. And Arthur.
Young, smiling, and holding hands.
Luca picked up the silver compact. His thumb traced the edge of the faded photograph.
He looked at his mother.
“You told me my father banned him because of a business dispute.”
Teresa couldn't speak. She was shaking violently, clutching my apron as if it were a lifeline.
“Mrs. Moretti needs her medication,” I said, stepping between Luca and his mother. I looked directly at the mafia boss. “Mr. Moretti, she’s going to have another stroke if you don't give her a moment.”
“Step aside, Hannah,” Luca said.
His voice wasn't angry. It was completely hollow. That was far more terrifying.
“No,” I said.
Thirty-eight guests gasped. You didn't say no to Luca Moretti in his own home.
But I wasn't looking at the mafia boss. I was looking at a son who was about to destroy his sick mother over a decades-old secret.
Vanessa suddenly rushed forward, grabbing Luca’s arm.
“Luca, please! Arthur is lying to you to ruin us. He wants the engagement called off so he can take control of my trust fund!”
Arthur laughed.
“Oh, Vanessa. You’re just as manipulative as your mother.”
Arthur walked toward the head of the table. Two of Luca’s guards stepped forward, but Luca raised a hand, stopping them.
“Let him speak,” Luca said quietly.
Arthur stopped a few feet away.
“Teresa and I were engaged before she met your father, Luca. We were in love. But your grandfather didn't approve of me. He forced her to marry the Moretti heir.”
Teresa squeezed her eyes shut.
“It’s true,” she whispered.
“But what does that have to do with the drowning?” Luca demanded. “Why did my father pay Vanessa’s mother to take the blame?”
“Because,” Arthur said, his eyes gleaming with sick satisfaction, “your father wasn't watching the child when she fell into the pool.”
Arthur pointed at Teresa.
“She was.”
The room froze.
“Teresa was supposed to be watching the girl,” Arthur said, his voice echoing in the quiet dining room. “But she was too busy on the phone with me. Begging me to take her away. When she finally went outside, the child was already gone.”
Teresa let out a gut-wrenching sob, burying her face in her hands.
“I’m sorry,” she cried. “I’m so sorry.”
Luca stared at his mother, the silver compact slipping from his fingers. It clattered against a dinner plate.
“You?” Luca whispered. “You let her die?”
“Your father covered it up to protect the family name,” Arthur continued. “He paid Vanessa’s mother—the young, desperate nanny—to take the blame and leave town. He bought her silence so his wife wouldn't face criminal negligence.”
Vanessa was crying hysterically now.
“It ruined my mother’s life, Luca! She was branded a monster. Nobody would hire her. She died in poverty because of your family!”
Luca turned to Vanessa.
“Is that why you’re here? Is that why you pursued me?”
Vanessa swallowed hard.
“I wanted what was owed to us.”
“Money?” Luca asked, disgust lacing his words. “You faked a relationship with me for a payout?”
“Not just money,” Arthur corrected.
He reached into his jacket again. This time, he didn't pull out a trinket.
He pulled out a folded legal document.
“Fifty percent,” Arthur said. “That was the deal your father made with me when he found out I knew the truth. He promised that if I kept Teresa’s secret, half of the Moretti assets would be transferred to Vanessa upon her marriage to the Moretti heir.”
Arthur tossed the document onto the table.
“The marriage doesn't have to be happy, Luca. It just has to be legal.”
Luca stared at the paper.
He looked at Vanessa.
“You were going to marry me, take half my family’s empire, and then what? Leave?”
Vanessa wiped her eyes.
“I was going to stay. I do love you, Luca. I swear I do.”
“You love his bank accounts,” Arthur spat.
Then Arthur looked at me.
“And what about you, little maid?”
I stiffened.
“Excuse me?”
Arthur smiled, stepping closer to me.
“Did you really think I didn't know who you are, Hannah Collins?”
Luca frowned, looking at me. “What is he talking about?”
Arthur tilted his head.
“Ask her, Luca. Ask your innocent little maid why she applied for a job in this house. Ask her who her mother is.”
My heart stopped.
May you like
Because I had a secret of my own.
And Arthur just found it.
